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Ward 2 Councilmember Paul Cunningham

There are always a lot of new development projects going on in Ward 2, which means that many of you have questions about how the process works. While the issues associated with particular developments are different, the process works much the same.

Words fail me when I think about the violence that occurred this weekend. Mayor Rothschild managed to sum up how I felt in his comments at the Jewish Community Center on Monday night. Here is a part of what he said:

After the assassination of President Kennedy, President Johnson urged the nation to “turn away from the apostles of bitterness and bigotry … and those who pour venom into our nation’s bloodstream.”

The City of Tucson will offer free transit fares all day on Tuesday, November 6th, to make it easier for citizens to vote on Election Day.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for voters to get to the polls,” said Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. “The right to vote is so important, and we want to ensure that everyone who’s eligible to vote has the opportunity to vote.”

In coordination with the Presidential Proclamation, Governor Ducey has ordered that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff immediately until sunset on Wednesday, October 31, 2018, in honor and remembrance of the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Individuals, businesses, and other organizations are encouraged to join in this tribute.

Most of our political arguments, at least in local politics, are about education. Over the last few months, it’s been about #RedForEd, charter schools and who should sit on the TUSD board. Education is the most important thing our state government does, and it should consume a lot of our energy as we decide how we are going to vote.

That said, I have a bit of bad news for you. What we do might not matter if kids aren’t ready to be students. 83.5% of preschoolers, that’s over 20,000 kids, are at risk of being not ready for kindergarten.

Last year, more than 300 people in our Ward got their taxes done for free thanks to volunteers with United Way's VITA program. If you'd like to learn more about this program and be a part of its great work, attend an upcoming orientation. This is a valuable but little known way to help people in your community is to help them get their taxes done for free. You'll save them money on preparation fees and help them avoid predatory lending practices that are all too common at tax time.

Clear fall skies and a range of amateur telescopes will await junior rangers, aged 8 to 12, attending “Astronomy Camp” in the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park on Saturday, November 17. This fall’s event, running from 1 to 8:30 PM will travel from earth orbit to the farthest reaches of space through indoor and outdoor activities and a hands-on telescope session when darkness falls.

The MEI rates cities on issues in five categories: Non-Discrimination Laws, Municipality as Employer, Municipal Services, Law Enforcement, and LBGT Equality.

The survey rated 508 cities and 78 of them received scores of 100. Two other cities in Arizona, Phoenix and Tempe, also received 100 ratings. Gilbert jumped 36 points for enacting a non-discrimination law, but is still far behind Tucson at 55.

Tucson Parks and Recreation and Pima Community College East Campus present the Boo Bash at Lincoln Park, a fun-filled night of tricks and treats. Come enjoy carnival games, trunk-or-treat, a costume parade, and more. The costume parade will begin at 6 p.m. Food also will be available for purchase. Special thanks to our sponsors: Pima Community College, Tucson Water, and Pyramid Federal Credit Union.

Many of you read the story by Tony Davis that appeared in the Arizona Daily Star on Sunday about the closure of a water treatment plant that serves a large portion of the city including downtown, midtown and the northwest side.

On Monday, October 8, 2018, at approximately 10 p.m., eastbound and westbound traffic on Broadway will shift to the north side of the roadway between Houghton and Harrison roads. Since the start of the project on September 17, 2018, crews have been salvaging landscaping and grading the north shoulder area of Broadway to install a temporary travel lane for this traffic shift. Shifting traffic to the north side of Broadway will allow crews to begin the excavation work to install underground drainage structures and new waterlines from Houghton Road to Harrison Road.

It was a relatively quiet council meeting on Tuesday, but we had a number of updates during study session on some important issues.

We got an update from Environmental Services about the city’s solar power initiative. I’ve written here numerous times about last year’s rate case involving Tucson Electric Power and how frustrated I am with their getting rid of net metering and thus the ability of many home and business owners to install solar power.